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Franklin's Gull

Larus pipixcanOrder: CHARADRIIFORMES Family: Skuas, Gulls, Terns, Skimmers (Laridae)
Codes: Common Name: FRGU Scientific Name: LARPIP ITIS Taxonomic No.: 176838
Least Concern
 
Franklin's Gull: The breeding adult Franklin’s Gull has a gray back and wings, white underparts and neck, and full black hood with a white eyering. The bill, legs, and feet are red.
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Overview

Franklin's Gull: Medium gull, gray back, white underparts. Head is black, white eye-ring; bill is orange, black spot near tip. Wings are short with white-bordered or spotted black tips. The legs are red-orange. Strong direct flight with deep wing beats. Soars on thermals and updrafts.

Range and Habitat

Franklin's Gull: Breeds on marshes, sloughs, and wetlands around lakes from southern Canada to South Dakota and Iowa; also in scattered marshes in the west. Migrates to southeast and winters mainly along west coast of South America.

Topo Map: Gull-like Body


Listen to Call

Voice Text

"cuk-cuk-cuk"

Interesting Facts

 The Franklin's Gull is unique among gulls in having two complete molts each year rather than one. The gulls need new, strong feathers in order to meet the demands of their 5000 mile migrations.

 Their floating nest gradually sinks as the material below the water surface decays, and it requires continual maintenance. Both parents add new nest material daily until one or two weeks before departing the colony. Older chicks also add nest material from the immediate vicinity of the nest.

 This bird was named after the Arctic explorer Sir John Franklin and was originally named Franklin’s Rosy Gull for its rosy-colored breast and belly. Early settlers named it the Prairie Dove.

 A group of gulls has many collective nouns, including a "flotilla", "gullery", "screech", "scavenging", and "squabble" of gulls.


Bird Term Glossary



Author

Gary Owen Dick

Artist

Irina Rud-Volga

Splitbar
Range Map for Franklin's Gull

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Family Gull (Laridae)_blue
Species Larus pipixcan
Length13 - 15 Inches
Wingspan36 Inches

Franklin's Gull

Franklin's Gull: Medium gull, gray back, white underparts. Head is black, white eye-ring; bill is orange, black spot near tip. Wings are short with white-bordered or spotted black tips. The legs are red-orange. Strong direct flight with deep wing beats. Soars on thermals and updrafts.

● Song: "cuk-cuk-cuk"

● Foraging & Feeding: Franklin's Gull: Feeds mostly on insects in summer, also eats earthworms, crustaceans, mollusks, small fish, and seeds. Forages in agricultural fields and meadows for grasshoppers and cutworms; catches dragonflies, mayflies and other flying insects in mid-air.

● Breeding & nesting: Franklin's Gull: Three buff, olive or brown eggs with brown and black markings are laid on a floating platform built above the water and lined with fine grass and plant down. Incubation ranges from 18 to 25 days and is carried out by both parents.

● Similar species: Franklin's Gull: Laughing Gull has grayer head, less prominent eye crescents, and solid black wing tips.

Flight Pattern

Strong direct flight with deep rapid wing beats.
Franklin's Gull Breeding Adult Body Illustration
● Range & Habitat: Franklin's Gull: Breeds on marshes, sloughs, and wetlands around lakes from southern Canada to South Dakota and Iowa; also in scattered marshes in the west. Migrates to southeast and winters mainly along west coast of South America.
BreedingMonogamous, Colonial
Population
MigrationMigratory
Weight9.9 Ounces
Gull-like BodyX
UnderpartsX
Belly, undertail coverts, chest, flanks, and foreneck.
BellyX
The ventral part of the bird, or the area between the flanks on each side and the crissum and breast. Flight muscles are located between the belly and the breast.
BreastX
The upper front part of a bird.
4 and 6 letter alpha codesX

The four letter common name alpha code is is derived from the first two letters of the common first name and the first two letters of common last name. The six letter species name alpha code is derived from the first three letters of the scientific name (genus) and the first three letters of the scientific name (species). See (1) below for the rules used to create the codes..

Four-letter (for English common names) and six-letter (for scientific names) species alpha codes were developed by Pyle and DeSante (2003, North American Bird-Bander 28:64-79) to reflect A.O.U. taxonomy and nomenclature (A.O.U. 1998) as modified by Supplements 42 (Auk 117:847-858, 2000) and 43 (Auk 119:897-906, 2002). The list has been updated by Pyle and DeSante to reflect changes reported by the A.O.U from 2003 through 2006.

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ITIS CodesX

The Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS) was established in the mid-1990�s as a cooperative project among several federal agencies to improve and expand upon taxonomic data (known as the NODC Taxonomic Code) maintained by the National Oceanographic Data Center (NODC), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

To find the ITIS page for a bird species go to the ITIS web site advanced search and report page at http://www.itis.gov/advanced_search.html. You can enter the TSN or the common name of the bird. It will return the ITIS page for that bird. Another way to obtain the ITIS page is to use the Google search engine. Enter the string ITIS followed by the taxonomic ID, for example "ITIS 178041" will return the page for the Allen's Hummingbird.

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Parts of a Standing birdX
Head Feathers and MarkingsX
Parts of a Flying birdX